Stuff That Works

We don’t entirely live without electrons. We have two cell phones, two radios, a weather radio, a scanner, a laptop, a wall light, and a few flashlights. Charging these devices involves using inverters connected to the cars when we drive around town. We always have something charging, even if it’s a top-off charge.

We will begin the typical homesteader’s foray into solar power, and as with all energy – including firewood – it’s an industry loaded with great advice and a good bit of treachery. It’s important to research before buying anything, and that means asking around in addition to simply Googling around. Our big advantage is that we need very little energy to get by, not even 100 Watts, which used to be one typical light bulb before they were outlawed.

But this post is about stuff that works, things I’ve bought that I use every day and holds up to the extreme environment here. First up is this little LED light. I bought it about 10 years ago and use it every night for navigation around a dark cabin. It never completely turns off, always emitting a very low power glow but bright enough to see in the dark. That little feature makes the light easy to find in the dark. It has three power settings and batteries last about 5 years.

Continuing with flashlights, this one is my EDC, as the doomers say. It’s clipped to a well made Leatherman Squirt and I use one or both every day. I’ve carried a pocket knife since I was in 1^st grade (these were the days when boys were actually expected to carry a knife. Try bringing a penknife to school today and the security apparatus will confiscate it at the metal detector, then call the police, who will arrest you and your parents. Your name will be entered into the DHS database and the TSA will put your entire family on a no-fly list). Anyway, back to the light, it has three power settings, the bulb is protected by a lens and it runs on easily available AAA batteries. The knife has a pliers, screwdrivers, a remarkably functional scissors, and a file.

I use this weather radio daily, but it has a few flaws. First is the cheap latch on the battery compartment, hence the rubber band (repurposed from a bunch of broccoli). Then the power button on top is way too sensitive, bump it and it’ll turn on but be muted – an utterly useless feature, by the way. Do that and your batteries will drain, a fatal flaw in my world where every electron matters. For some inexplicable reason the bottom is rounded, which I suppose doesn't matter but I like my radios upright, not supine. The reception is what matters, and even more so around here because the transmitter is on Mt. Mansfield, over in Vermont. When that transmitter occasionally goes down we can pull in the Canadian version of NOAA, which is a good way to learn a little French while getting a weather report. The radio is an affection nowadays, we can access the same info on the NOAA site, but somehow it's just not the same. It's also important to have backups for everything - we'll lose phone and Internet when the cell tower goes down.

I’ll finish this post with two more useful devices, both related to propane (another large subject for the future) will wrap up this post. First up is a nicely made adapter that recharges propane canisters. It’s a horrific waste to use them one time and throw them away. I don’t think it’s possible to buy one in a store because of the liability associated with stupidity. It takes some basic mechanical skill and common sense to use (refill canisters outdoors, wear eye protection, remember that the 20 lb tank has left-hand threads, etc.). Mechanical skills are increasingly rare and common sense isn’t so common, which is why retailers typically don’t carry it.

Lastly is the little Primus lamp, a fine source of heat and light. It’s designed for lightweight but wasteful and non-rechargeable butane cartridges. Once again, the Internet provides a wonderful propane-butane adaptor, certainly not approved for sale at Wal-Mart or Dick’s. But it's  readily available online, direct-ship from Korea. It’s extraordinarily well made. If you appreciate fine machining, you may want one just to have as a paperweight even if you don’t need an adaptor. There’s a slight amount of skill involved to use this also and the instructions are in Korean so you have to figure it out yourself (easily enough, or just Google it).

Kovea LPG Adaptor

That’s it for now, but I have several other Things That Work that I may discuss in future posts.